Markets pare early gains; Sensex down 142 points at close

Benchmark indices pared early gains and ended lower on Friday in line with weak trend in Asian markets and concerns that the US Federal Reserve might raise interest rates further to curb inflation.

Fresh foreign fund outflows and selling pressure in HDFC twins also dented investor sentiments.

The BSE Sensex declined 141.87 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 59,463.93 despite a firm start.

During the day, it fell 280.46 points or 0.47 per cent to 59,325.34.

The NSE Nifty dipped 45.45 points or 0.26 per cent to end at 17,465.80.

In the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Bharti Airtel  were the major laggards.

Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, NTPC and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.

"The domestic market is broadly demonstrating a lack of confidence, registering its sixth consecutive day of losses despite global markets turning green.

"Continued selling in the domestic market by FIIs is acting as an overhang in sustaining the early gains.

"Crude oil prices rallied as the prospect of lower Russian exports outweighed rising US inventory," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, South Korea, China and Hong Kong ended lower, while Japan settled in the green.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.92 per cent to $82.97 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,417.24 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.